Automotive News
July 2, 2007 - 12:01 am

A new business run by Southeast Toyota Distributors LLC installs aftermarket accessories on new vehicles for Toyota dealerships.

The pilot center opened in suburban Atlanta this spring. Five Toyota dealerships there are taking part in the program, said Colin Brown, CEO of JM Family Enterprises Inc., Southeast Toyota's parent company.

Brown said the center installs accessories such as sunroofs, spoilers and leather seats. Previously, he said, dealerships would have used aftermarket accessories shops for such work.

Southeast Toyota will review use of the center this year to determine whether to offer the service to its entire dealership network.

"It depends on whether dealers are interested in giving us the work," Brown told Automotive News. "If we're only doing two vehicles a day, it's not going to work. If we have more vehicles to work on than we have room, then we know we have a hit."

The 18,000-square-foot aftermarket center has 11 workstations and four vehicle lifts.

Barry Jackson, a Toyota dealer in Sandy Springs, Ga., says he has sent about 10 vehicles to the center for accessories. He says it is closer to his dealership and works faster than the aftermarket shop he previously used.

Jackson says customers prefer having factory-trained technicians using Toyota parts work on their vehicles.

"When you sell a brand new car, 'aftermarket' is a bad word," he says.

Southeast Toyota distributes new Toyota vehicles to 169 dealerships in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina. The company operates vehicle processing centers in Jacksonville, Fla., and Commerce, Ga. Last year, the centers prepared and distributed 415,645 Toyota vehicles to dealerships in the region.

The centers also install factory-order accessories on vehicles before they are delivered to dealerships.

You may e-mail Arlena Sawyers at asawyers@crain.com

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2007 double cab, 5.7, 2wd, nautical blue metallic, bu, ds, kg, nv, wr, 37,ss, v5